Trump threatens 200% tariff on alcohol from EU
US President Donald Trump has threatened a 200% tariff on any alcohol coming to the US from the EU in the latest twist in an escalating trade war.
Trump made the threat in response to the EU’s plans for a levy on US-produced whiskey in retaliation for US tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports.
He called for the immediate removal of the EU’s tariff on US whiskey, calling the bloc “nasty”, “hostile and abusive”, and “formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States”.
A European Commission spokesperson said that “calls are being prepared” between between the US and the EU to discuss the situation.
It confirmed that its trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, had “reached out to his American counterparts” after Trump threatened retaliation against EU tariffs on Wednesday.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump said the tariff – a new border tax on alcohol imports from the EU – would be “great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the US”.
The latest threat marks a continued escalation of a trade war which has rattled financial markets amid concerns over the impact on the economies and consumers in many countries around the world, including the US.
Trump has threatened tariffs on a range of more specific items, including copper, lumber and cars on a range of countries since taking office in January.
Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium came into effect on Wednesday, imposing a blanket duty of 25% on imports and ending exemptions that the US had previously granted for shipments from some countries.
He has also imposed 25% taxes on goods from Mexico and Canada, some of which he later suspended, earlier this month and raised levies on Chinese imports into the US to at least 20%.
Leaders in Canada and Europe have called the new taxes unjustified and struck back with their own tariffs on a range of US products.
However, in interviews with US business media on Thursday, White House officials blamed the EU for escalating the fight.
“Why are Europeans picking on Kentucky bourbon or Harley-Davidson motorcycles? It’s disrespectful,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg Television, describing the back-and-forth as “off the topic”. “He wants these countries to respect him. And all this showed you is that Europe and Canada do not respect Donald Trump and do not respect America’s ability to build its steel and aluminium industry, which is vital for national security ,” he said.
